Glorious Summer Salads

A Trove of Summer Salad Recipes

Last month, I said I would suggest some delicious salad recipes for your nice cold-pressed salad oils to go on. So here we are!

When made well, salads can be filling and absolutely delicious. They’re also a great opportunity to eat dark green leaves, which are excellent anti-inflammatories, and raw vegetables, many of which contain lots of vitamin C.

A basic framework recipe

I found this idea posted on someone’s fridge the other day! It is a brilliant formula for constructing a yummy salad without having a ‘proper’ recipe, making the most of whatever you happen to have at hand. You just compile one or two each of the following categories:

Salad jars to-go

This has been a big craze amongst ‘healthy eating’ writers – and I think it’s a pretty good one.

The idea is that you put layers of ingredients into a large, wide-necked glass jam jar or mason jar, store in the fridge, and then when the time comes, you just shake everything together and munch.

The benefits of this arrangement: a) it’s healthier, cheaper and faster than buying a ready-made lunch; b) you avoid plastic, which is sensible because of its xenoestrogens; c) you can make 5 days’ worth of lunches in advance & they stay fresh in the fridge.

The key to it all is layering correctly (which prevents soggy lettuce). You essentially arrange the ingredients from the base upward, starting with wet things like dressings and tomatoes and going up to dry things, finishing with leaves.

There are some lovely vegetarian recipes over at Jessica in the Kitchen which will give you some ideas. Inspired by her, you could make this spiced chickpea jar salad, layering in order:

A delicious green salad

Sometimes it’s worth constructing a really tasty green base, to which you can add whatever protein you happen to have in stock.

Here is a fantastic, seasonal broad bean and mint salad recipe, which I’ve adapted from the wonderful Amelia Freer. It provides lots of nutrients which support the liver and detoxification, as well as being anti-inflammatory.